Wheaton to begin fixing private sewer lines

$1.7 million pilot program will cover about 250 homes; efforts could expand

February 11, 2013|By Quan Truong, Chicago Tribune reporter

Wheaton will soon start a $1.7 million pilot program to line the cracks in private sewer lines to cut down on back ups. Council passed an ordinance that will allow workers to enter private property. (City of Wheaton, Handout)

Wheaton is launching a $1.7 million pilot program to fix private sewer lines for roughly 250 homes. If successful, the efforts might be expanded to other areas of the city, although it hasn't been decided who would pick up the tab for the additional work to fix sanitary sewer lines and cut down on back-ups.

"The idea is to test it and see if our repairs make a difference," said councilman John Rutledge. "We're not making a commitment to do this all over town."

The City Council passed an ordinance at its last meeting to give workers authority to enter private property to make the repairs. Work is expected to start in the spring and should end sometime before summer's end, said Paul Redman, director of Wheaton's engineering department.

Work on the lines will not involve digging. It's a method the city has used before on its public sewer lines that has been successful, Redman said. However, the laterals that run from private homes to the street are smaller, which could affect the results.

Instead of tearing up a yard to get to the underground sewer lines, workers would insert a flexible tubing material into the lines. When the material is heated, either with steam or hot water, it inflates and creates a lining inside the pipes.

It is meant to fix the cracks and leaks inside of old sewer lines that have been allowing rain water to seep in and overflow the system, creating back ups in basements, Redman said.

The lines on private property should actually be maintained by individual homeowners, but the city is taking on the pilot project to test the method before considering how to implement the solution city-wide.

"This is to do a small enough area so we can get statistical results but not too big that will cost us a lot of money," Redman said.

If it proves successful, the city will have to decide how to carry it out on a larger scale and who would pay for it.

Meanwhile, the city has been fixing public sewer lines to help cut down on back ups. Officials estimate related capital improvements may add up to more than $25 million.

Redman saidthe city's effort will not completely fix the problems.

"It's not impossible but it's impractical to eliminate 100 percent of the excess flow," he said. "A study identified that if we can eliminate or reduce approximately 40 percent of our excess flow that's coming in, we can lower the risk of back ups, and that is the objective."

For more information on the sanitary sewer improvement program, visit the city's website at wheaton.il.us.